Comfort
by Wulferious
Summary: Max never thought that he would seek out comfort and human contact ever again. After joining a group of ladies on a desperate mission to escape the same thing he was, he found that he had been very, very wrong.


Author's Note: This is the REAL copy of my story 'Comfort'. Some may know it as 'In My Arms', but that version was stolen from my DeviantART page. If by the time you read this the stolen copy is still avaliable: Please, please report it here. ( s/11304871/1/In-My-Arms ) It would be a huge favor for me and I would appreciate it immensely. Anyway, on to the story. Please enjoy and leave a review!

Ever since the Stranger had joined the War Rig, things had balanced out between getting worse and getting better. You and the other 'wives' had sat in the back and helped out with reloading guns, and you had done your best to keep your cool as the man kept a gun pointed at Splendid. In truth, you felt helpless, and the fact that a stranger had to come along for the ride didn't help. He was constantly threatening you with death while you were only trying to get away from it.

Eventually, the stranger had put down the gun, and decided to help instead of taking Furiosa hostage and taking the group wherever he saw fit. You had gained a very strange respect and affection for him over the past day or two, even though he never really talked and communicated with grunts and hand signals. After the whole fiasco with his suspicion and the fight between him and Furiosa, he had been quite respectful, other than the gun thing. Perhaps that was just a strange mental tick about him.

During the chases down the Fury Road, the stranger had done much to protect you and your group, with you and Splendid doing most of the action outside the vehicle, to make sure that nobody got shot. Both of you knew that Immortan Joe wasn't going to let any of the girls get damaged.

Every one of the 'wives' did things to help out, which certainly helped keep hope and moral strength alive. At one point, you had launched yourself out of the Rig, and held onto the door and spread out your body in a defensive manner in front of the stranger, causing the War Boys to hesitate at trying anything. You stuck your tongue out at them, despite the fact that your mouth would be full of sand just seconds later. Just as the Rig started to pick up speed again, Max looked over from the driver's seat, and threw you a thumbs up and a smile. You assumed it was some sort of positive gesture, which made for feel useful, but your chest went aflutter when he looked you in the eye.

Out of the six 'wives' that had escaped Immortan Joe, you were the quietest. You didn't want to get in the way, and you knew that you didn't have the skills to shoot a gun, or take the responsibility of taking another person's life. Even so, you were brave enough to help when you could.

Never had you thought that was an admirable trait. Most of the time, you sat in the back seat of the rig with the other girls, until the rig came to a gritty halt. Furiosa had said that she had the opportunity for safe passage through the canyon, as long as she was alone.

"Get in the hull, but leave the latch open." As the girls climbed into the hatch in the floor of the vehicle, the Stranger pointed a gun at you. 'Not this again,' you thought.

"You. Stay." It was an odd gesture, and you wondered why he was still skeptical of your group, especially after the life saving that went on a few miles back. Plus, he had let the other girls go. Why you? You sucked in your breath, hesitating to do anything. Furiosa looked back at you, then at the stranger.

"You'll need to go too. But, I might need you to drive the rig. The sequence is one, one, two, black, and go.. what do I call you, so I can signal you to leave?"

The man was silent, and shook his head. "Alright, then. When I yell 'fool', you get them out of here." She said, a sarcastic tone dripping from her voice.

Just as Furiosa stopped talking, the stranger pointed down towards the hatch, where both of you climbed in, but sat dangerously close to the opening. The entire time you hid there, the man was staring at you. You did your best to look intimidating, but it was likely you were failing, from the way he was smirking at you.

You pursed your lips, crossing your arms and closing yourself off to him.

"They might trust you, but I still don't get why Furiosa didn't kick you off the rig," you boasted quietly, huffing.

The man only smiled, and when he opened his mouth, Furiosa's yell interrupted him.

"FOOL!"

The man quickly hopped up and made his way to the driver's seat, flipping the switches and slamming on the gas pedal. Silently, you hoped that Furiosa would jump back into the rig and kick him into the back seat, and maybe Capable could take his spot, or something.

Turns out, he made that decision on his own. As night fell, Capable had gone onto the back of the rig, to watch out for the war parties that were following behind. You were barely awake, sitting in the nook of the back seat by the window, when you heard shuffling. All the other girls had cuddled up into the other side, while you preferred to be by yourself. You've had enough of fearful huddling for a while.

Tearing your eyes away from the desert scenery, you saw the Stranger climbing into the back seat, squishing himself into the room that was between you and the other girls. He smiled awkwardly at you.

You eyed him, pretending to be uninterested. "What're you doin' here, dusty?" You ask, trying to be annoyed with his presence. He grunted.

"Sleep."

Rolling your eyes, you just turned your eyes back toward the window, but the Stranger's weary hand touched your shoulder.

"I thought you said you wanted to sleep?" You asked, this time shedding your charade, just a little bit. The man nodded slowly, but he stretched his lips thin in what you thought was a look of disappointment. Maybe that's why he moved back here. He couldn't sleep up front, next to Furiosa. She did seem a little too into it when she was driving.

Inferring his message, you opened your arms to him, and it seemed like your guess was right. He leaned into you, trying to find comfort in a place full of sand, dust, and an atmosphere of tension. To be honest, you were looking for comfort, too.

Just before you thought that you could actually fall asleep with this large and burly man in your arms, you saw him wearily reach into his jacket. Afraid at first that he were to pull another gun, you were ready to jump backwards, possibly flinging yourself outside the rig again. But, instead of some hidden gun, he pulled a small contraption from his jacket. He handed it over to you slowly, and maneuvered to get comfortable again when you took it.

Holding up the small item in your hands, you turned the little handle sticking out of the box. A sweet, almost high pitched melody spilled from it. It wasn't too loud, and the theme sounded familiar, but you couldn't place the tune. You held the contraption in your hand, as you looked at the Stranger, he was watching you, his expression soft and his face relaxed.

"Thank you," you whispered, but you still felt a bit curious that you didn't know his name. "What's your name?" You added, snuggling up to him a bit more, feeling quite comfortable, even if one of your arms was going numb by being stuck sandwiched between the man's back and the seat.

The man hesitated, biting his lip, but he leaned close to your ear, and his breath against your face made you shiver.

"My name… it's…. Max."


End file.
